Mythical Creature Inspired Dog Names

Introduction

For centuries, the various cultures of the world have used Mythology to help them better understand different aspects of their world and daily lives. The characters, stories, and concepts that have spawned from Mythological tales each have unique and meaningful names that are both culturally significant and mentally stimulating in nature; without a doubt, the various pantheons of the world will provide dog owners with an abundance of iconic names to give to their pets that reflects a certain worldview, references a primal of cosmic force active in our universe, or represents an abstract, spiritual concept.

Mythical Creature Inspired Names In Pop Culture

Featured Famous Mythical Dog

Cerberus

Perhaps the most well known and famous of all dog-like mythological creatures is the three headed hound of the Underworld, Cerberus. Originating from Greek culture, Cerberus is the offspring of the great monsters Typhon and Echidna. Cerberus became aligned with Hades, the Greek God of the Underworld, who has tasked the great beast with making certain that no wayward souls wander into or out of the Underworld unaccounted for. This gargantuan, three headed hell hound has made multiple appearances in Greek mythology, even playing a major role in the stories of other, equally famous Greek heroes ad deities.

One such instance of this is when the Tragic Musician Orpheus set out to retrieve his beloved from the depths of Hades after she suffered an untimely demise. Cerberus refused to let Orpheus' wife, Eurydice, exit the Underworld willingly, so the Tragic Musician lulled the beast to sleep with a beautiful song. Orpheus and Eurydice's tale would go on to end in tragedy, but when Cerberus regained consciousness, he was astounded that such a harmless and elegant thing as music got the better of him. Cerberus resolved to adapt accordingly to that strange scenario and no one else was able to get the better of him through such means.

Later on, however, the legendary Greek hero, Heracles (or Hercules in Roman,) was able to best the creature with his otherworldly strength as part of his twelfth and final labor. Unable to match the strength of the demigod, Cerberus was taken back to the land of Eurystheus, where he was displayed as a trophy before being released back to the Underworld. This experience was monumental for both Cerberus and Herc, for no mortal who'd entered the Underworld before had ever made it out alive. And conversely, no monster that Heracles encountered had ever survived the ordeal as well. Harrowed by this experience, Cerberus nevertheless returned to his post in the Underworld, though some accounts claim that the beast has become much more somber and even tempered as a result of its prior dealings with mortals. In turn, Cerberus has become a creature that has made a lasting impression on mankind; having appeared in thousands of movies, games, TV shows, and pieces of literature, many people across the globe have come to be able to instantly recognize this benign creature based on his tricephalic visage and iconic name alone. Cerberus has become synonymous with the Underworld and the afterlife, but he has also become synonymous with vigilance and duty.

Mythical Creature Inspired Dog Names in Pop Culture

Dog owners looking to give their pets a name that has an esoteric flair to it should definitely consider using a mythical creature as inspiration due to the fact that most mythological creatures have become so synonymous with certain abstract concepts that their very names can be used to evoke certain feelings and sentiments; the Phoenix has become synonymous with rebirth due to its ability to rise from its own ashes while the Griffon has become a symbol of royalty, sovereignty, and justice. Even to this day, the snakes that coil around the staff Caduceus are present in almost all forms of medical iconography. Mythical creatures have also become incredibly prevalent in various works of fiction; whether gamers are grappling with gorgons in the God of War series or film goers are watching the mythology inspired kaiju of the Godzilla and Pacific Rim franchises duke it out, benign creatures have become deeply ingrained in contemporary culture on both superfluous and metaphorical levels. Even in terms of colloquial verbal exchanges, mythological creatures have found their place in various sayings, aphorisms, and euphemisms. What better way could a dog owner represent their desire to rise up from a bad experience like a phoenix, or fly high and be large and in charge like a dragon, than to name one of their pets after a mythological being whose name reflects those sentiments?

Male Mythical Creature Inspired Dog Names

Votes	Name	Vote
1	Cerberus The three headed Hound of Hades
1	Raijū The lightning beast of Japanese lore
1	Failinis The invincible battle hound of Irish mythology
1	Kitsune The nine tailed foxes of Japanese mythology
0	Garmr The Hound of the Goddess Hel
0	Cù Sìth The Grim Reaper-esque hound of Scottish lore
0	Orthrus The two headed dog who guarded Geryon's cattle
0	Irawaru The Māori progenitor of all dogs
0	Axehandle A reference to the North American cryptid of the same name
0	Amarok The lumbering, hungering wolf of Inuit mythology
0	Komainu Lion dogs who ward off evil spirits in Eastern cultures
0	Coyote The Navajo Trickster God who assumed a canine appearance
0	Anubis The jackal headed Egyptian God of the mummification and the afterlife
0	Huehuecoyotl The Aztec god of music, dance, and mischief
0	Gytrash Named after England's mythical phantom dog
0	Fenrir The Norse harbinger of doom and destruction
0	Moddey Dhoo A black phantom fog from Manx mythology
0	Panhu The dragon-dog of Chinese mythology
0	Quetzalcoatl The Aztec winged serpent and skyfather
0	Minotaur The creature Theseus encountered in the Labyrinth
0	Orochi A reference to the 8 headed serpent of Japanese mythology
0	Shesha A prime creation entity in Hindu mythology
0	Simargl A Slavic deity who is often depicted as a winged dog or lion
0	Wepwawet An Egyptian War deity whose often associated with jackals
0	Shuck A reference to Black Shuck, the ghost dog of East Anglia
0	Athos One of the Greek Gigantes whose said have created Mt. Athos
0	Agrius A name that encompasses many characters from Greek mythology, including a Centaur and a Giant
0	Bienor A centaur who fought during the Centauromachy
0	Polyphemus The giant cyclops who accosted Odysseus during the Odyssey
0	Typhon The Greek father of monsters and the progenitor of Cerberus

Female Mythical Creature Inspired Dog Names

Votes	Name	Vote
2	Medusa The snake headed monster from Greek lore whose gaze could turn people into stone
1	Chimera A fire breathing monster with three heads; one a goat's, one a lion's and one a snake's
1	Sphinx The monster who challenged Oedipus with a riddle
1	Hashihime A Japanese river spirit who spends her nights alone
1	Kumiho A fox-like creature that's appeared in many Korean stories
1	Lamia A siren type of creature from Basque mythology
0	Echidna The Greek mother of monsters and one of Cerberus' parent
0	Scylla The dog legged sea monster of Greek mythological lore
0	Charybdis A Greek mythological sea creature often attributed as the reason for many shipwrecks
0	Titania The Fairy Queen whose appeared in multiple stories from Western Mythology
0	Mab A reference to Queen Mab, an alternative name for Titania
0	Campe A dragon like creature in Greek mythology
0	Eglė A reference to the Queen of Snakes from Lithuanian lore
0	Baba A reference to the Baba Yaga, a supernatural witch from Russian folklore
0	Maggy A reference to Maggy Moulach, a fairy creature from Highlands
0	Kikimora A horse like spirit from Slavic mythology
0	Mary A reference to Bloody Mary, a ghastly figure from Western Folklore
0	Kijo An oni spirit from Japanese mythology
0	Likhoradka A female spirit said to cause sickness in Slavic mythology
0	Południca The Polish name of Lady Midday, a spirit from Eastern Europe
0	Poludnitsa Lady Midday's name in Serbia, Bulgaria, and Russia
0	Chirtel Ma Lady Midday's Yiddish name, where she is depicted as a noon demon
0	Jenny A reference to Jenny Greenteeth, a river hag in English lore
0	Keres The daughters of the Greek spirit of the night, Nyx
0	Perchta A goddess from Alpine paganist lore whose name means "the bright one"
0	Simurgh A kindly avian spirit in Iranian mythology
0	Shahmaran The Queen of Serpents in Iranian mythology
0	Joan A reference to Joan the Wad, Queen of the fairy-like Pixies of Cornish lore
0	Ceto A Greek sea goddess and the daughter of Gaia and Pontus
0	Harionago In service to the Barbed Haired woman from Japanese mythology